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A Conversation and Reflections
Author: Abdul Hazrat AlGunud
Date: 09-05-11 11:16
The Great Hall had been decorated with green and silver garlands. This, of course, represented tradition at Hogwarts. Abdul had gotten to know a few Slytherin students during the year; but, mostly he had been absorbed in his own private research as well as an intensive effort to disguise the focus of his research. This had left little time for socializing with members of his own house, let alone with members of other houses.
Ordinarily, Abdul might have been interested in learning the traditions of Hogwarts. Now, the volume of noise and the smells of the food were making him nauseous. The odor and sight of a pudding someone had set at the table, a mass of dark brown, opaque, quivering gelatin, caused Abdul’s stomach to lurch. He made a hasty apology as he jumped up from his seat and ran from the hall. He barely made it to the privy before the remains of his meager lunch began to forcibly exit his stomach. He crouched over the toilet until the dry heaves subsided.
He was only vaguely aware of someone entering the restroom until there was a knock on the stall door and Professor Flitwick’s voice broke Abdul’s reverie regarding the utility of porcelain bowls.
“Abdul, I think we need to talk.”
The object of the statement suppressed a groan. If anything had been left in his stomach, it probably would have sought egress immediately. The tone was quiet but firm. This was no perfunctory enquiry about the state of his health.
“Of course Professor, I shall be right out,” Abdul replied. He rose and straightened his robe. The absurdity of the gesture struck Abdul at that moment. He had obviously been throwing up but here he was concerned about maintaining appearances. The lessons taught to him by his parents were too deeply ingrained. He would face the head of Ravenclaw House with what little dignity he could muster.
When he stepped out of the stall, he received a shock. For beside the diminutive figure of Professor Flitwick, stood a much more formidable presence. Professor Dumbledore regarded Abdul silently for a moment before speaking.
“I fear that I cannot remain long. I am expected to preside over the feast. However, I did ask to accompany Professor Flitwick. I thought it wise to speak with you privately. Professor Flitwick has kept me informed regarding your circumstances. You have not had an easy year. Your family life has been...disrupted. This chaos has been reflected in your life here at Hogwarts. I know that your father hoped that some distance would provide you a measure of normalcy. I expressed my doubts to him but, nevertheless, I yielded to his entreaties to let you enroll. I must confess that I did not keep as close an eye on you as I should have. If I had, I might have been able to curtail your more esoteric research.”
The slight emphasis placed upon the word “esoteric” was the only indication that Professor Dumbledore regarded Abdul’s escapades as anything more significant than the usual litany of student pranks that abounded at the end of the school term. Abdul braced for a decree ordaining his expulsion, possibly followed by an arrest order. Briefly, his mind returned to the fateful day in December when his research had begun to bear fruit. It had been during Ancient Runes class.
FLASHBACK:
Abdul still paid close attention to Professor Hodfuffer in Ancient Runes. But, thanks to long hours at the library, the class had gone from bewildering to merely difficult. The additional study time had the added advantage of giving Abdul more opportunities to research the Nakotic Manuscripts. Thus far, no one had taken any interest in the nature of his research.
His chain of thought was interrupted by someone asking Professor Hodfuffer about the next trip to Hogsmeade. Many of his classmates displayed a keen interest in the professor’s answer. Abdul shared this interest, if not for the exact same reason.
“Indeed, assuming you have parental permission, you are all free to go to Hogsmeade this coming Saturday. This also assumes that you can keep out of trouble between then and now. Remember, this trip is a privilege which can be forfeited should someone get detention or otherwise violate school rules. Now if you would all please turn to page 267 of your text and find the passage relating to the significance of the scarab in ancient Egyptian runes...”
Abdul lingered behind after class, ostensibly to ask Professor Hodfuffer about their next homework assignment.
“Yes, aah, Abdul it is of course. What can I do for you?”
“Professor Hodfuffer, I was wondering if you could assist me in my studies. Here is a list of items I have been looking for in the library.” Abdul produced a scroll and handed it to the professor.
“Goodness, this is rather lengthy,” exclaimed Professor Hodfuffer as he unrolled the scroll to reveal a parchment more than two feet in length listing a series of titles in minute letters.
“My dear lad, you are doing quite well in class, I hardly think you need to pursue your studies in such depth.”
“That is exactly the point Professor, I wish to study the ancient Egyptian magicians in greater detail, beyond what is covered in class. I believe that this could best be done by looking over their manuscripts and hieroglyphics.”
“Well, I am gratified that you are taking such an interest in the subject but I am not sure why you need my assistance in your research. Most of these titles you list should be readily available in the library.”
Abdul shifted slightly as he attempted to keep in face impassive and his tone nonchalant. “Yes, most of them should not be difficult to locate but a few do not seem to be on the regular shelves. I was wondering if they might be on the shelves of the restricted section?”
“Some of them yes, for example, this one regarding reanimation of mummified corpses. And why on earth would you need to read about human sacrificial rites conducted by Thoth-Amon? He was quite a black magician in his day you know.”
“Oh? I was not aware of that.” Abdul forced himself to keep his tone of voice matter-of-fact. In fact, his pulse was beginning to race. Professor Hodfuffer appeared to be scrutinizing the list title by title. The titles he was truly interested in researching had been carefully scattered throughout the list, sandwiched between more innocuous books plus a few items that definitely were on the restricted list but of absolutely no interest to Abdul.
“Hmm. Well, I don’t see any harm in letting you browse through some of these texts but I will need to consider whether or not you should have access to the materials relating to Thoth-Amon.” Professor Hodfuffer might have continued but was interrupted by another student who chose that moment to enter the classroom, seeking a meeting with the professor during office hours. Distractedly, Professor Hodfuffer scribbled his permission on the list, including the exception of the book relating to Thoth-Amon.
Abdul thanked the professor and hurried out the door, trying to control his elation. The ruse had worked! Now perhaps he would find more information regarding the Nakotic Manuscripts.
PRESENT:
“Unfortunately, we cannot undo the past.” The sigh accompanying that statement seemed to speak volumes. It hinted at mistakes in judgement that could not be undone and harsh words that could not be unsaid. “All that remains is to deal with the consequences of prior decisions. Let me emphasize that while you bear some measure of responsibility for current circumstances, you are not solely responsible. Both Professor Flitwick and myself are in some measure responsible. As are other parties outside of Hogwarts. In fact, the outside parties bear the most of the responsibility. They orchestrated events in a foolish effort to gain power. They are responsible for the attack on Hagrid and his subsequent injury. You did not cause that and so you should not feel any guilt in that matter.”
“I must go now. But before I do, let me offer a few bits of advice. Abdul, you will need to be extra careful. You have peered into a realm that few wizards even know exists. Of those few, I did not believe that any would be foolish enough to meddle with the powers that dwell there. That fact alone is sufficient cause to place you in danger. The other reason to exercise caution is that although the attack on Hagrid was orchestrated by outside parties, they clearly had help from someone at Hogwarts. As yet, we do not know who that person is. Finally, it has not escaped my attention that you have been skipping meals. Your health is important. I am sending word to your foster family about your propensity to go on starvation diets. Should this persist, I daresay that Madame Pomfrey might be persuaded to make a housecall.”
With that final admonition, Professor Dumbledore strode to door. “Now I will leave you and Professor Flitwick alone to discuss matters. I will make sure that you are not disturbed.” The door closed with a thud.
Slytherin Pride
Author: Griet
Date: 09-05-11 13:36
Seeing the Great Hall decked out in Slytherin colors put pride into the hearts of the departing seventh years, who could truly say that their last year at Hogwarts had ended on a high note. Despite the happiness Griet felt regarding the knowledge that Slytherin had claimed the House Cup, she felt a bit sad, too.
For seven years, Hogwarts had been her home. True, there'd been a year-long interlude, not of Griet's choosing, but barring that, her arrival at Hogwarts as a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young first year had started something truly magical.
Her time at Hogwarts had not been without tribulations, though. Her best friend had gone psychotic and nearly killed her sister. The relationship with Cornelia had certainly had its ups and downs, too. Certainly the worst thing to happen had been the discrimination she'd experienced as a half-breed, after getting bit by a werewolf.
Griet had the future to look forward to now. She had applied and gotten accepted to St. Emrys University. Griet had no idea what she wanted to study, though. If anything, she wanted to delay the reality of growing up by attending school for a few more years. Maybe during that time she'd find herself and discover what she might like to do with the rest of her working life.
Oberon had opted against attending university. He planned on finding a job of some sort this summer.
Gervaise had a place at St. Emrys next term, but he wasn't sure he wanted to attend the university as a full-time student.
Next to him sat Cornelia, whose expression was a mixture of utter glee and a tell-tale grimace. Everybody knew that Cornelia never settled for anything less than the best. And now Slytherin had won the House Cup, if the green and silver decorations in the Great Hall were anything by which to judge.
But she was very upset that the others were graduating, and that she still had one more year at Hogwarts. She didn't want to have a long distance relationship with Gervaise and had even gone so far as to suggest he purposefully fail his classes and earn Trolls on his N.E.W.T.s so that he might hang around the castle for another year. That had been a no-go, as Gervaise hadn't wanted to repeat all his classes.
"Look on the bright side," Griet said, when she couldn't ignore her sister's odd facial expressions any longer. "Next year Quidditch should go back to normal, and who knows, you might be the team captain."
Cornelia looked intrigued and then smug. "You're right. I should be captain next year. Good."
Gervaise shot Cornelia a sidelong grin but then glanced over her head at Dumbledore, who had begun to make his way to the High Table.
Delicious
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 09-05-11 14:10
Ethan sat at the High Table between Theodosia Batuti and Severus Snape and cut a plump, juicy sausage into pieces with his knife and fork. The Great Hall hadn't been this full since the Halloween Feast. There had certainly been other holiday celebrations in the interim, but they'd occurred when students had the option of traveling home, such as at Christmas or Easter.
During the school year, students and staff took their meals whenever they pleased within certain times during the morning, midday and evening. Students had the option of eating in the Commons, as well, and staff could leave campus whenever it suited them. The result was that the Great Hall was rarely ever this full on a normal day.
There were a couple of notable absences, though. Filius and Albus had left together a short while ago, possibly to check on the Ravenclaw student who'd fled the room moments earlier.
The two empty chairs didn't make the High Table look any less crowded, though. Albus had invited all of the new staff members to attend the End of Term Feast and it looked like most had accepted the invitation.
Currently not involved in one of the conversations taking place at the High Table––Severus Snape wasn't known for being a chatterbox, after all––Ethan sank deeply into thought about this coming Monday. It would be the first day of the trial of Hattie Harsnip. Make that the second trial of Hattie Harsnip, as she'd been tried in her original body back in September of 2000 for her involvement in Project 25.
The new trial would focus on the dark magic she performed to rid herself of her soul and how she eventually found herself in the body of an eleven year old boy. And then there was the murder of Rosamond Boggs.
Ethan planned on observing every second of the trial when he wasn't on the witness stand. He'd already made arrangments with Aveline and his parents to watch Lilly while he was in court. In fact, she was in Aunt Aveline's care tonight.
The doors to the Great Hall opened, revealing Albus but not Filius. Albus strode back to the High Table and took his seat in the center, between Minerva and Filius' empty chair. Hopefully whatever business Filius had outside the Great Hall wouldn't keep him away for long. The food was not to be missed!
Ethan forked a piece of sausage and put it in his mouth, savoring every juicy bite.
What Happened?
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 09-05-11 14:46
Ronan sat in his usual place next to his mother's bedside and read the latest AJ Hundle novel. He'd spent the day doing chores at home, like cleaning and doing laundry and yard work. Solange had come over for lunch and then convinced him to teach her some more basketball moves before leaving him to get showered and dressed, so that he could spend some time with his mum.
As always, Enid lay totally unresponsive in her metal-framed bed. It bothered Ronan greatly to see her like that, but he didn't know what he could do to bring her out of her coma. Either she would wake up on her own or she wouldn't.
The pretty young nurse with the short haircut poked her head into the room and then came inside fully when Ronan glanced up from his book. He used his finger to mark his place and greeted, "Hi."
"Hi," she said, shooting him a smile. She turned then to Enid. "How's our patient doing?"
Ronan glanced down at his mother's face. Her eyes were moving behind her eyelids but other than that she seemed just like she did everyday.
"The usual," he said.
"The usual is better than worse," the nurse said. "Oh, hey. Look at that."
Ronan followed the nurse's gaze and saw that Enid's hand had twitched. There was a pause and then it happened again.
"I'm going to get a healer," the nurse decided. She quickly vanished from the room.
Ronan put down his book, not caring if he lost his page, and look at his mother. Her hand opened and closed and then she took a very deep breath. When she exhaled, her eyes flew open.
"Mum!" Ronan exclaimed.
Her eyes blinked a few times and then she focused on her son. "Ronan?" Her voice was weak from lack of use.
"Mum," Ronan said again. He took her hand and felt relief spread all over when she grasped his firmly. "You're awake."
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Almost two months."
"Two months!" Enid tried to sit up, but at that moment, a healer rushed into the room, followed by the nurse. Both gently pushed her back into her pillow.
"Easy now," the healer said. He looked at Ronan. "What happened?"
"Nothing. She just woke up."
"Let me take a look."
Ronan reluctantly let go of his mother's hand and moved out of the way so that the healer could do his check-up. He gave the nurse some instructions, sending her from the room, and then talked to both Ronan and his mother.
"You seem to be on the road to recovery, but we'd like to keep you here for a little while longer for observation. How do you feel?"
"For all the sleeping I've done, strangely tired."
The healer chuckled. "That's natural. Get some rest and we'll check in on you again in a few hours."
He left the room, leaving Ronan alone with his mum. "Mum, what happened?"
Enid took a moment to process his question.
"I received a visit from an auror," she said, remembering. "He asked me some questions about Caden. No, not about Caden but about the group."
Ronan knew what she meant by "the group".
"When I went back to my cell, I blacked out."
Ronan considered what she told him and asked, "What do you think caused your blackout?"
Enid shook her head at first but then she seemed to realize something. "The tea. The auror conjured a cup of tea for me. He conjured one for himself too, but maybe mine was poisoned and his wasn't. He probably conjured his to make it seem like there was nothing wrong with mine."
"Why would an auror want to poison you?" Ronan asked, dubious.
"I don't know. He wasn't very nice, but most of them aren't when dealing with hardened criminals like myself."
Ronan processed her words for a long moment. Then he asked, "What was this auror's name?"
"Hudson Hayes," Enid answered.
Moth To A Flame
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 09-05-11 15:01
Harry taps a map, insisting, "We should go in here."
Pointing to another spot Griffin Prices says with a shake of his head, "I disagree. I think this is our best bet."
"But that's so exposed."
"Which is why we'll be using concealment charms. That spot has more cover, yes, but it's also got a funnelling effect that forces going in single file."
"You've got a point. Come in this way, block everywhere else and with the anti-apparation spell in place if any get out it will be that way and with the restricted room for egress, if we have people covering this door, anyone coming out will be easily picked off."
"Restricted room for egress? Harry's been studying his vocabularly words again."
"Shhhh. Don't let Hermione know her big words are starting to rub off on me."
Griff chuffs at that then returning to a chair recently pushed out of the way, he sits, a frown crinkling his brow. "I'm not convinced that taking this warehouse is going to get us any closer to Rufus Henshaw."
Leaning against a counter, arms crossed, Harry nods. "Me either but Kingsley says we take the warehouse, so we take the warehouse."
"He's just in a snit that we've not brought in Henshaw yet."
"I'm in a snit over it so I suppose it's not much of a stretch to think Kingsley is too."
"That and how he flat out told us in is office recently," Griff replies, frown turning to a quick, brief grin.
"I'm going to put the kettle on."
Harry fills the kettle then moves to put it on the stove, muttering under his breath when he can't get the fire adjusted under it like he wants. He points his wand and tries one more time before looking over his shoulder at Griff to say with a roll of his eyes, "The flame for this burner is being a pain in the arse again."
"So heat the kettle just with your wand."
"The water never stays hot for as long I don't think."
"Then here, let me have a go at it."
Griff approaches the stove and starts to bend down as though going to check the flame when Harry suddenly points his wand at him. Griff goes still while Harry casts a spell before shooting a grim smile at Griff. "Success."
Both men bend down to exam a moth that's fallen off Griff's shoulder. "Let's find out who it is," Griff says, gently scooping up the moth.
Harry keeps his wand trained on the moth as Griff moves it into a jar and puts a lid with tiny holes punched into it firmly on the jar. They then apparate to another location where they place the jar in the middle of a taped off square then remove the lid. They move out of the square and Harry activates a series of security charms.
"I used a very mild stun so it shouldn't be long," he tells Griff. He muses aloud, "Did I put the flame out on that stove?" After a second's thought he says, "Yes, I did, just as we left."
"We've got movement," Griff says, bringing Harry's attention fully to the captured moth.
The wings move feeble then with more vigor. The moth finds its feet and staggers a few steps before drunkenly taking flight. Harry hastily warns, "Don't try going far. You're in a temporary holding cell."
The moth flutters around in a crooked circle before landing again. It's starting to look more steady on its feet, which is another indication the stunner is rapidly wearing off.
"Might as well save us all some time and frustration and turn back now. Your other option is to stay in that cell until you need food or water. I guess as a moth you could relieve yourself without there being any sort of mess to clean up but you will eventually need water and then food," Griff says very matter of factly.
The moth faces them as if staring intently and deep in thought. They stare back. A minute passes then another before the moth makes its decision. Within seconds a woman familiar to them both is standing there, glaring hatefully at them. Nancy Oyelowo is an Auror Griff and Harry have worked with on different occassions. Harry doesn't know about Griff but he's been to her house for a couple of parties and has taken lunch with her a few times.
Harry states in a conversational tone, "Didn't you know that being an unregistered animagus is against Ministry reguluations, Nancy?"
"Fuck the Ministry," Nancy vehemently spits. "Let me out of here and I'll make sure Rufus doesn't torture you long before killing you."
Griff blinks in surprise, having expected Nancy to first play the innocent card. He quickly recovers to ask, "How long have you worked for Henshaw, Nance?"
"I'm not on his payroll, Griffin."
Harry beats Griff to the question. "Then why help him?"
Nancy flashes a maliciou smile. "Why do you think?"
Taking her to mean she's sleeping with Henshaw, Harry and Griff proceed with the questioning before taking Nancy into lockup at the Ministry. Now that they've finally removed the last of the leaks to Rufus Henshaw, they can move forward with the case and bring Henshaw in with a strong case against him. When they've done that, Henshaw will likely never see the outside of Azkaban again.
At The Feast (Etta)
Author: Jared
Date: 09-05-11 17:08
At the Gryffindor table Etta sits next to Jill, who's next to Marjani, who's next to Arista. Though a little disappointed that Gryffindor didn't win the House Cup, they are excited that summer holiday is upon them at last. For Marjani, Arista, and Etta it also means they made it through their OWL year. Etta sometimes feels bad for Jill, and Olive too, that because of some very stupid, evil people they didn't get to take OWLs this year.
Though some years any speeches to be made at feasts get made and then the food appears on the tables. Some years the food appears and people begin eating and then at some point any speeches to be made are given. This is one of the latter. The Great Hall was fairly well packed though Etta noticed that a few she knew hadn't arrived yet when the food began appearing. That was pretty much an invitation to start eating and as she'd hardly eaten all day in anticipation of the feast, Etta didn't hesitate to begin filling her plate.
As always with the Hogwarts feasts there is a huge variety of dishes so after surveying what was available along her section of the Gryffindor table, Etta decided to start with a salad with chicken that upon tasting proved to be Asian inspired. There was another Asian inspired dish, sesame chicken, which is one of Etta's favorite so she takes a little of that. She adds a spoonful of some sort of pasta dish with red sauce, sliced sausage, and red and green peppers then turns to spoon some carrots onto her plate before tucking in to eat what she's got before deciding on anything more.
She catches Deak smiling at her from the Ravenclaw table and smiles back. Even though he doesn't have to ride the Hogwarts Express tomorrow he's going to, partly because he's a prefect, partly because he wants to finish making some plans with friends, and partly because he wants to ride it with Etta. Deak's going to go home with the Wynbournes and have supper before flooing back to Hogwarts. On Tuesday, she's flooing to Hogwarts and then they will floo to Cloud's Kiss for a day around the pool there. Hogwarts has a pool but it's indoors without natural lighting. Cloud's Kiss has an outdoor pool and an indoor one with the indoor one being enclosed in a large, airy room with big windows all around. That makes both Cloud's Kiss pools more appealing for someone starting summer hols. Also, at Cloud's Kiss there are those wonderful Muggle contraptions called video games and there is a cinema for watching movies if Deak, Etta, and their friends tire of the pool.
Towards the end of the week the Wynbournes are going on family holiday but Etta has no idea yet where that will be. Neither of her parents will tell her and when she wrote Jared he owled back that he didn't know either. Abigail and Gawain apparently want to it to be a surprise. It's not a long wait but still, Etta wants to know now, especially hearing others talking about where they are going for holiday. Jill is doing that at the moment so Etta, reaching for a hot, crusty piece of bread to go with the wonderful food already on her plate, turns slightly in her seat to better listen.